China’s chief diplomat told Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly Friday that Beijing wants to “inject momentum into the restoration of normal relations,” but said the Asian power will brook no criticism of human-rights abuses or its menacing threats to the island democracy of Taiwan.
Foreign Minster Wang Yi sat down with Ms. Joly in Beijing to discuss what he called the “difficulties and twists and turns” in Sino-Canadian relations that have been strained for nearly six years. The trip to China by Ms. Joly was an attempt to reopen channels of dialogue.
Relations fractured after China imprisoned Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor in late 2018 in retaliation for Ottawa’s detention of a senior Huawei executive on a U.S. extradition warrant. China was also angered by revelations of its extensive influence operations in Canadian domestic affairs that led to a public inquiry into foreign interference.
The funny thing is that the Belt and Road initiative as a way of buying friends has utterly failed. For example, China built a billion-dollar bridge in the Maldives connecting Malé with its airport on another island but public opinion of China in the Maldives is still low. That’s despite the fact that the entrance to the bridge has “China-Maldives Friendship Bridge” written in large letters on an arch over the carriageway.
The problem is, as bad as public opinion is amongst the public, the elected officials (this round) are the ones who sign the agreements for lockins the next 15-20 years. Their hands are greasy as fuck, I hear.